Tom Barclay was born during the great depression in a small house on Bay Road in Duxbury, MA. He was the youngest of 4 children by parents Julia and Willard Barclay, growing up on Sunset Road in Duxbury. He graduated from DHS in 1950, but left early at age 17 when his father died unexpectedly, to join the US Marines.

After attending USMC boot camp at Paris Island, Tom was deployed to Korea where he served in the legendary 1st Marine Division, first in the amphibious invasionary force at Inchon, then becoming one of the surviving “Chosin Few” under the command of Major General Oliver “O.P.” Smith. Vastly outnumbered 8-1 by N. Korean and Chinese troops, almost 1,000 Marines were killed and 12,000 more wounded in the Chosin Reservoir Campaign, many from frost-bite, fighting in intense cold, cut off from reinforcements, and with dwindling supplies and ammunition. Battling fiercely with dogged determination, the Marines inflicted +35,000 casualties punishing the enemy forces, many through hand-to-hand combat. For his bravery and valor in battle, Tom received the coveted Silver Star, eventually becoming the celebrated general’s personal driver and body guard. Although he was forever humble regarding his war-hero status, the vivid memories from that traumatic experience would come back to haunt him in his final years.

After the war Tom returned to Duxbury where he worked for the late Tom Herrick at Herrick’s Ford Garage driving the school bus. He would meet his eventual sweetheart, Mary Clark while driving that bus, as she was a rookie school teacher at the elementary school, marrying her in 1956. They settled in Duxbury, eventually parenting six children together. Tom was an active father, becoming the commander of the “Sons of the American Legion”, then Scoutmaster of troop #52, as well as a Little League baseball coach. Tom worked for food broker A.H. Morse for many years, then became a certified Hearing Aid Audiologist where he achieved relative success, eventually retiring about 2010. Tom moved to Plymouth when he was remarried in the early 1980’s, but Duxbury was always his native hometown. Tom was a bit of a lady’s man, with a contagious smile and a great sense of humor right until the end.

Tom is survived by his brother Willard (Chicago area), sister Mae (Clearwater), son Timmy and his fiancé Suzanne Deveney/Duffy (Kingston) and stepdaughter Katie, son Scott (Kingston), daughter Diedre (Kingston), son Keith and his wife Meg (Kingston), as well as 6 grandchildren (Jesse, Troy, Jeffrey, Adlie, Julia, and Shannon), and three great-grandchildren (Paxton, Grayson, and Paisley). He is pre-deceased by his two sons Brett (1984) and Kevin (2009).

Funeral arrangements will be under the care of the Bartlett Funeral Home, 338 Court Street, Plymouth. Calling hours will be held on Thursday November 2nd from 4:00 PM-7:00 PM, then a brief memorial service on Friday morning at Bartlett’s on November 3rd at 9:00 AM, followed immediately by a burial ceremony at the Mayflower Cemetery in Duxbury. Godspeed and Semper Fi!